3rd August 2024
He lives in us
Jesus lives in us. Several Bible verses affirm this, in particular Galatians 2:20. But exactly what does this mean? We know it happens in and with the Holy Spirit, but we are human and can really only think in three dimensional terms (credit to the Borg Queen of Star Trek). Speaking of Star Trek, sometimes while pondering how Jesus lives in us, I can’t help but think of the symbiont in Deep Space Nine. The symbiont was a slug-like creature who needed to be surgically implanted in a host to survive. Afterwards, the two shared a single, conscious mind, and the host’s personality was then a blending of the characteristics of both the host and the symbiont. The host had access to all the skills and memories of the symbiont’s previous hosts (they lived a long time).
You may be thinking, she’s crazy, that doesn’t sound anything like Jesus living in us through the Holy Spirit. You may be right, and yes, I’ve watched too much Star Trek, but it intrigues me. There are major differences of course, because this is from the imagination of the writers, not the Bible. Jesus doesn’t need us to survive – it’s the other way around. We have our life in him. He isn’t surgically implanted in us, and we are not one in a long line of hosts. He lives in us uniquely as individuals. We don’t share a single, conscious mind, but we can have his mind (1 Corinthians 2:16) and his attitude (Philippians 2:5).
Jesus living in us is a mystery, as are many spiritual things. But it’s not science fiction, it’s real. And even though we don’t fully understand it, we can be sure that Jesus does live in us, not as some symbiont who merely uses us, but as the Creator and King of the universe, who also calls us his children and his friends. We have been crucified with Christ and we no longer live, but he lives in us, and the life we live in the body, we live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved us and gave himself for us (Galatians 2:20).
Study by Tammy Tkach
First published on 16 July 2024, at www.gemsofgodsgrace.wordpress.com a personal blog which is not sponsored by Grace Communion International.
About the writer:
Tammy Tkach is the Assistant Pastor of the Eugene, Oregon, USA, Grace Communion International congregation. She is a speaker and writer, and publishes a blog at www.gemsofgodsgrace.wordpress.com
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